The present invention relates in general to automatic control systems for regulated functions of motor vehicles, and, more specifically, to a location-based control system that may be configured to prevent certain functions of a motor vehicle from operating in a manner inconsistent with governmental regulations or user-imposed rules.
The operation of certain functions and features of motor vehicles are regulated by various governmental authorities for various jurisdictions. The regulations are frequently inconsistent so that use of a particular function or parameters applied to the function that are acceptable in one jurisdiction may be impermissible in another. Consequently, vehicle functions are often designed according to parameters that comply with the most restrictive regulations at all times even though the vehicle user may desire a different level of performance in a less restrictive jurisdiction. For example, one jurisdiction may place restrictions on the use, audio volume, time-of-day of operation, and duration of an audible alarm for vehicle security alarms. Other jurisdictions may have similar but different requirements, some of which are more restrictive and some less restrictive. In order to meet these jurisdictional regulation conflicts, vehicle manufacturers must choose between a single design delivering the “lowest common denominator” of performance to meet everyone's regulations or accept the cost and complexity associated with maintaining different designs for different jurisdictions and managing the extra inventory logistics.
By way of another example, remote engine starting is becoming a popular option because it can precondition the temperature of the vehicle cabin, seating and steering wheel surfaces in both hot and cold climates and can defog/deice windows in cold climates. However, the use of remote starting has been prohibited by some local, state, and national governments.
There is currently no way for vehicle owners to easily keep track of and know the details of the regulations that they may be subject to when using a remote vehicle engine starter in their many travel destinations. There is also currently no easy and effective way for vehicle manufacturers to address this problem through known means due to the disparity between jurisdictions and the often small size of the municipalities that have such regulations. Enabling or disabling the remote start function at a selling or servicing dealership is impractical because the vehicle cannot be expected to remain in the same jurisdiction during its useful lifetime and such boundaries may even be crossed on a daily basis.
Some prior art vehicle systems have used a locating system such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) to monitor the vehicle location and compare it to known jurisdictions to enable or defeat certain functions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,724,440 discloses the use of a navigation system to determine vehicle driving location so that a function such as daytime headlamp illumination can be operated in accordance with local regulations. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,040,766 uses a GPS receiver to determine the country in which the vehicle is located in order to adopt corresponding vehicle features, such as units of measure for speed and fuel gauges and a switch condition for lighting systems. However, the known systems rely exclusively on a predetermined, fixed relationship between location and the corresponding regulations. The manufacturer or some other third party must first define the performance limits, and thus undertakes responsibility for the accuracy of the knowledge of all the potential jurisdictions involved even though the regulations may change over time. Furthermore, the prior systems have not taken into account the possible desire for the vehicle user to provide quasi-jurisdictional limitations for their vehicle features (such as allowing normal vehicle alarm performance when away from home, but preventing operation during certain hours when the vehicle is at home).
A further limitation of the prior art is that functions affected according to the vehicle position for purposes of regulatory compliance have primarily related to driving operations (e.g., with the vehicle moving so that the position/jurisdiction is changing). However, many regulated aspects of vehicle functions involve a parked vehicle such as the regulation of audible security alarms mentioned above. Other examples include diesel engine idle shutdown (in which a parked vehicle must be shut off after a prescribed engine idling time) and brake transmission shift interlock (BTSI) manual override (which is not allowed in some jurisdictions).
These are some of the disadvantages of the prior art overcome by the present invention.